Raven vs Starfire
by A. Amishi
Summary: Not knowing how much of her powers remain, Raven decides to improve her fighting skills and enlists Starfire's help. But Slade appears and manipulates them into believing they are mortal enemies. Fight to the death ensues.
1. Chapter 1: Training Day

Disclaimer: In most of my disclaimers, I try to identify who owns the rights to the show I am writing about. In this case, I've been unable to find out. Most TT disclaimers seem to simply state that the writer does not own the rights to the show. The same is true here. I do not own the Teen Titans animated show that airs on Cartoon Network, nor do I profit in any way by writing this story. It is simply for your reading enjoyment.

Teen Titans: Raven verses Starfire

Description: This fic takes place shortly after _The End_. It's not a forgone conclusion that the amazing powers that Raven demonstrated in defeating her father are still with her, or how much longer those powers will stay with her. For this reason she decides it would be a good idea to improve her fighting stills. It's not long before their longtime nemesis, Slade, appears and has something new in store for Raven and Starfire, pitting the two friends against each other as bitter enemies.

Author's Notes: Hope you enjoy the start of my first Teen Titans fanfiction. Teen Titans is one of my favorite anime. Yes, I called it an anime, one of the first American anime. I've just loved the first 4 seasons, especially _The End_, which was just great. Not so happy with season 5 yet. Not enough TT and not enough Raven. Hoping that will change before the season is over.

Chapter 1: Training Day

"RRRRR!"

"Seven…"

"RRRRRR!"

"Eight…"

"RRRRRRR!"

"Nine…"

"RRRRRRRRAAA!"

"And the TEN! Very good, friend Raven!" Starfire helped the gray-skinned empath guide the bar to the supports. "Congratulations! You have completed 3 sets of the repetitions of 10 at this weight."

Raven stood up and patted her forehead dry with a towel. "Thanks, and thanks for spotting for me."

"It was my pleasure." Starfire beamed.

Raven walked over to the exercise mats in front of the large mirrored wall and began stretching out.

"But if I may inquire?" A serious expression crossed the young Tamaranian girl's face.

The empath glanced over to her friend for a moment. "Sure."

"You have never been one to enjoy the exercise, yet you have ventured to the gym each day since …," she trailed off.

The dark-haired girl stopped what she was doing and turned to address the taller girl. "That's all right, Starfire, you can say it. Since we defeated my father, Trigon." She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. "The truth is, I don't know if the powers I exhibited in defeating him were a one-time thing or not. I always thought I derived all my powers from him. Now that he's gone, I don't know how much power I still have.

"I know I still have some powers. I can levitate," she rose five feet off the ground, "and levitate objects too." She extended her hand towards a rack supporting over 1500 pounds of free weights and lifted it 10 feet into the air, then gently set them back down along with herself. "But until our next battle, I guess I won't know for sure just how much power I've retained." Turning back to her friend, she said, "That's why I thought it would be a good idea to work on my overall physical strength as well as improve my hand to hand combat techniques, just in case it turns out I'm not half as powerful as I used to be."

"I understand." Starfire smiled. "Shall we commence with the sparring, or do you need to continue with the stretching a while longer?"

"No, I think I've stretched out enough. Let's get started." Raven picked up her towel and led the way to Robin's dojo.

(000)

The dojo was commonly referred to as Robin's dojo because it had been almost exclusively used by the Boy Wonder up until recently. Now Raven and Starfire had taken to sparring with each other, sometimes for hours at a time.

Robin had one simple rule in the dojo, one he insisted be followed no matter what: "No Offensive Weapons!" Flying fists and feet did enough damage, and there were plenty of other rooms that got trashed in the tower on a semi-regular basis. He didn't want the room where he honed his martial-arts skills getting needlessly destroyed as well.

Raven knew Robin would make a better sparing partner than Starfire. For that matter, so would Cyborg. Hand to hand combat was their specialty. But after sparring with each of them once, she decided she was better off fighting Starfire. Despite their claims to the contrary, she knew they held back way too much because she was their friend and because she was a girl.

While she wasn't certain that was Robin's reason, Cyborg had actually been stupid enough to admit to it. This had infuriated the young empath so much that she had engulfed him in her soul-self and left him suspended just inches from the ceiling for over an hour after leaving the dojo. That's when she had asked Starfire, who was already her spotter, to be her sparing partner too.

As it turned out, Starfire proved to be better at hand to hand combat than Raven had expected, often getting the better of the Azarathian. Of course, the redhead's incredible strength helped her some during their fights.

The two girls took off their shoes and walked to the middle of the room. Taking a fighting stance, Starfire formed glowing emerald orbs around her hands while Raven formed white orbs around hers. These served as protection for their hands as well as to cushion their blows, acting something like boxing gloves. It took considerable concentration to use these as defensive, not offensive, weapons especially for the Tamaranian, but both agreed it was worth the effort.

The girls exchanged a look that told them the other was ready. Instantly, Starfire launched an attack, sending a flurry of punches and kicks at her opponent. Raven managed to block or dodge every one of them, but just barely. Back-peddling in a semi-circle, she tried to keep from getting cornered by the redhead.

Starfire wasn't much for defense. She left herself open constantly, but her attack was so fast and furious that Raven didn't have time to take advantage of it. She had already learned from experience the damage inflicted by the full impact of one of Starfire's punches.

"Aaaah! … Aaaah! … Aaaah!" Starfire yelled with each punch, with each kick, and with each her eyes grew brighter until they were two fiery emeralds.

Raven continued her retreat, but Starfire managed to cut her off and back her straight up into the wall. The dark-haired girl let out a gasp, realizing her escape had been cut off. Starfire launch three powerful punches, two of which Raven blocked, the third, she avoided by rolling to her left. The blow punched a hole into the wall. Raven sprung back to her feet, took a quick step forward, and cut loose with a forward spin kick, her best attack move, catching the Tamaranian on the shoulder, sending her crashing into the wall.

Trying to maintain her advantage, Raven stepped forward to deliver another kick, this time into Starfire's side, but the taller girl quickly spun around and unleashed a kick of her own. The blows connected simultaneously, but, gifted with the longer legs of the two, Starefire's kick proved more effective, sending Raven tumbling to the ground.

Not waiting a moment for her friend to recover, Starfire launched another attack. "Aaaah!"

(000)

Robin left the main room with a great sense of satisfaction. He had just beaten Cyborg 17 straight times at NASCAR – Tournament of Champions, leaving his cybernetic friend virtually in tears over having lost so badly at his own game.

Fun was fun, but the serious-minded leader of the Teen Titans knew crime never rests, and neither would he. While he had already worked out earlier that morning, he saw no reason not to take advantage of the opportunity to get in a second workout, so he made his way to the dojo, intent on putting in a good hour of training, perhaps two if he was up to it.

Passing through the main entrance into a hallway that lead to the strength and fitness center, the men's and women's locker rooms, and the dojo, he was about to enter the locker room when the unmistakable sound of Starfire's battle yells came echoing down the hallway.

"Starfire?" Robin whispered. Realizing the sounds were coming from the dojo, he made his way in that direction.

Stepping into the entrance, the masked hero arrived just in time to see Starfire strike with an attack from above down onto Raven. Raven raised both hands to block the assault. The redhead seized the advantage, sweeping down, and kicking Raven in the midsection, sending her flying across the room and into the wall.

The half-demon let out a sharp grunt upon impact and collapsed to the ground, having had the wind knocked out of her.

"Raven!" Robin shouted as he raced towards his fallen friend.

"Robin?" A startled Starfire turned. "Do not worry. We are simply engaged in the training."

Reaching Raven's side, he crouched down and placed his hands upon her shoulders. "Raven, are you all right?"

As the gray skinned girl struggled to catch her breath, her cynical-self whispered in her mind, _let a Tamaranian kick you in the gut and send you crashing into a wall, then tell me if you feel all right. _ She simply nodded.

"Here, let me help you up." Robin reached down to take her hands but she pulled them away and held up her index finger. "All right." Turning to face the redhead, the Titan's leader snapped, "Starfire, you've got to take it easy. You're way too strong to spar full out against anyone, especially Raven."

The Tamaranian hung her head in shame. "I am sorry."

"Don't be," Raven replied, finally able to breathe normally. She started to get up, Robin reaching down to help her, but she pulled away. "I don't need your help," she snapped.

The boy pulled back with a start.

Having risen to her feet, the dark-haired girl continued, "And I don't need you interfering with my training."

"Raven, I just don't want you to get hurt," he explained.

"If I can hold my own against you guys, then I know I can face any villain we come across, but if I go into battle with a false sense of confidence because you guys took it easy on me, how much greater are my chances of getting hurt?" she explained logically, having gained control over her anger.

Robin's shoulders slumped low. "You're right, of course. Sorry, Raven. I just don't want to see any member of my team get hurt."

The Asarathian sighed. "I know, and I appreciate your concern. But I'd rather get hurt here at the hands of a friend than someplace inhospitable against an enemy who's looking to kill me."

Robin nodded and turned to walk away, but he stopped after a few steps, turned back, and asked, "Is it all right if I stay, just to observe? I promise not to interfere."

Not pleased with the idea of anyone watching her spar, Raven gave her less than enthusiastic response. "Sure, if you want."

Robin turned towards Starfire to get her consent as well.

"As you wish," she replied without her usual enthusiasm.

The two girls returned to the center of the matted floor and prepared to do battle once again. Starfire shifted her gaze from Raven over to Robin, who stood leaning against the wall next to the door. She sighed and returned her attention to her opponent. Raven glanced over her shoulder to steal a look at her team leader as well. Turning back to Starfire, she whispered, "Just ignore him."

The taller girl nodded. Putting the boy out of her mind, she launched her attack against the shorter girl.

Unlike earlier, where Raven was constantly on the defensive, now she managed to find opportunities to attack as well, countering her opponent's overly aggressive assault. On multiple occasions she would fade left or right and deliver a hard knee to the redhead's side or a sweeping kick to the back of her head. And while the blows Raven delivered were strong enough to stop most normal people, Starfire was anything but normal by human standards. For each blow only served to enrage the Tamaranian girl more and more; and the madder she got, the more intense was her attack.

Not to be outdone, Raven altered her strategy. Rather than just blocking and countering, she stood toe to toe against the physically stronger girl and exchanged a flurry of kicks and punches. Most were blocked or avoided, but occasionally one would find its mark. Whenever Starfire took a hit, she would fall backwards or to the side, and quickly roll back to a fighting stance, ready to continue the match. Whenever Raven took a hit, she would go sailing across the room, into the wall, but would get up after only a moment in order to continue the fight.

_She's not bad, but she's taking too many hits. She's going to get herself seriously hurt if she keeps this up._ Robin ran his hand through his hair.

After taking eight hits in a row without landing one, Starfire initiated a different attack: two punches, two kicks, then she jumped over her opponent, turning in mid-air and repeating the attack, then jumping again. She kept her jumps short, just high enough to be outside the other girl's reach, and using her flying ability to move faster and faster each time.

After awhile she was just a blur, as Raven grew more anxious with each jump, because she knew what was coming. This was an attack Starfire had used in previous sparring matches, one she had yet to figure out how to defend against. With each attack coming faster and harder, Raven barely had time to react.

With a mighty yell, "AAAAAAH!" Starfire came down with her hands raised high. Raven brought her arms up over her head to block the Tamaranian's hammer blow.

Sparks flew as Starfire's fists came down in a streak of glowing green and made contact with Raven's white orbs. In one fluid movement, the redhead assaulted her opponent's unguarded midsection with a savage kick that sent her flying across the room, slamming into the wall, over ten feet in the air and crashing down onto the floor like a rag doll.

Robin gasped but hesitated a second, hoping to see his friend make some effort to get up. When she didn't, he rushed over to her as fast as he could. The Tamaranian flew over to her fallen comrade as well when she realized the girl was not moving.

"Raven!" She reached down to turn her face up.

"Don't!" Robin yelled, rushing up behind her.

Gasping in shock, she turned towards her leader. "I was not intending to attack her."

"I know that, Starfire," he said in a much calmer voice, "But if she's seriously injured, moving her could make it worse." Bending down low, he whispered, "Raven, can you hear me? Raven?"

"Mmmm…" she grimaced in pain.

"Where does it hurt?"

After a moment, she answered, "Everywhere." After another moment she added, "But if you're asking if anything is broken or ruptured, the answer's no." Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Ouch," she said in her typically monotone voice.

A tear escaped the corner of Starfire's eye. "Oh, dear friend Raven, I am so incredibly sorry. I allowed myself to lose control and assaulted you most viciously." She lowered her head. "I am eternally sorry."

"Can you sit up?"

"I think so." Raven tried to push herself up without success. "I'll take that help you offered last time." She extended her hand.

Robin took hold of her elbow with one hand and reached around her waist with the other. Starfire placed her hands upon the friend's shoulders to help as well.

"Are you okay, Raven?"

"Yeah." She ran her hand over her upper abdomen. "Well… I will be." She ventured a glance over at her opponent, sighing softly. "It's all right. Things like this happen. I'll be all right, Starfire. I just need a few minutes, that's all."

The sensitive alien wanted to believe what her friend said was true, she wanted to believe it was all right, but deep down she knew otherwise, and soon, so would her friend.

"I think maybe you should call it a day," Robin suggested. "Give yourself a chance to rest and recover."

Raven met his concerned gaze, glanced over at her sparing partner, then back at the Titans' leader. "Yeah… I suppose you're right."

(000)

While each bedroom had its own shower, there was also a large shower stall in each of the locker rooms. It was here that Raven and Starfire chose to wash up after their workout.

Raven moaned when she ran her washcloth over her bruised abdomen, buckling over slightly.

Starfire glanced over her shoulder and offered her friend a look of sympathy and guilt. "I am so very sorry, Raven."

"It's okay, Starfire. We were fighting; injuries happen," the empath reassured her.

"It is not okay." The redhead looked away. "I… I… cheated." She hung her head in shame.

"I know."

"You knew?" She gave her friend a started look.

"Of course I knew," Raven offered a non-accusing reply while she worked up a lather all over her body. "No one could jump as fast as you did without some help. It defies the laws of gravity."

"And yet you remained true to the rules of engagement we had previously agreed to, when we agreed not to use our flying abilities." The guilt ridden girl pressed her washcloth to her heart. "I am an unworthy friend." She bowed her head low. "Please, Raven, you must exact a measure of revenge. Strike me, for justice's sake."

Raven continued to wash herself while she listened to her friend. Straightening up after washing her legs, she replied, "I'm not going to hit you, Starfire, if that's what you mean."

"But you must!" Starfire invaded Raven's personal space. "I have wronged you. I violated our agreement. Justice demands some form of retaliation."

"You apologized already. I accepted. That's good enough. Forget about it."

"But I cannot. I wronged you, Friend. I cheated, and my inappropriate actions resulted in bodily injury to you. This is totally unacceptable. Please, Friend Raven, you must exact some measure of justice against me," the Tamaranian insisted.

The empath sighed and looked away for a moment. She had honestly forgiven her friend long before she even admitted to her wrongdoing, but she knew that Starfire's overwhelming and sometimes unusual sense of justice would haunt the taller girl until Raven did something to set her mind and soul at ease.

"Fine," the dark-haired girl conceded. "Concentrate on my hand," she instructed, holding her palm about six-inches from her friend's face.

"Excuse me?" A hint of fear emanated from Starfire's voice.

"Just follow my hand, okay?"

Confused, the Tamaranian nodded in agreement nonetheless.

Slowly, Raven moved her hand to the right, and Starfire followed it intently. Then she moved it to the left. Slowly, she returned it back in front of her friend's face and lowered it about ten inches. Finally, she raised it up over her friend's head.

Mesmerized, Starfire kept her eyes riveted to the small, pale palm. She craned her neck back as Raven levitated high enough to hold her hand over a foot over her head. Gradually, the hand came back down just as slowly as it had gone up until it was about four-inches above her, then suddenly Raven wiped her hand down, landing back on the floor with her hand by her side. The taller girl snapped her head down just as quickly, letting out a yelp, feeling the sudden pull and pop from the back of her neck.

"Ouch!" Her hands went to her neck.

Raven smirked ever so faintly, "Satisfied, or would you like to add the humiliation of doing it in front of the rest of the team?"

"No! That is not necessary. Thank you." Starfire rubbed her neck vigorously, trying to work the kink out.

"Well, I'm done, so I'll meet you in the bath?" Raven paused for a moment, waiting for a response from her friend.

"Oh, yes, I will be just a moment longer." Starfire forced a broad smile, while still working the back of her neck.

"Fine."

Raven walked from the showers to a large Japanese styled bath that Robin had installed just a few weeks ago. While watching a documentary on the Asian country, she quite innocently mentioned how a bath like the ones shown in the documentary would be a nice addition to the training facilities. She never expected Robin, who was watching the program with her, to actually act on her suggestion. But now that it was installed and usable, she wondered how she ever managed without it. It was a bit smaller than a small swimming pool, and obviously not as deep, but since this one was just for the girls, it was more than big enough for the only two females on the team.

Raven placed her hand on the towel cart and wheeled it over near the bath, then stepped into the warm, mineral-rich water. "Aaaah" She sat down at the far end and stretched her legs out in front of her, allowing her body to sink down into the rejuvenating waters. "If there is a heaven on earth, this MUST be it." She inhaled deeply, then slowly let her head slip under the water as well. _Heaven…_

A few minutes later, Starfire padded across the tile floor to the bath, sat at the edge, and gracefully swung her legs into the water, gently lowering herself into the bath. "Aaaaaah… this is most wonderful, do you not agree?" she said softly, duplicating Raven's earlier action.

The empath waited for her friend to resurface before replying, "Yes, it is… very wonderful."

"I do not understand why the boys prefer the tumultuous nature of the forced air bath over the tranquility of this sort of bath."

"To each their own, Starfire," Raven whispered with her eyes closed, feeling the warm enriching waters penetrate every pore of her body. "To each their own…"

"I suppose…" The Tamaranian girl imitated her friend's actions as a comfortable silence filled the large bathing room. After a several minutes, she added, "But I cannot help but be reminded of the GELSORK FRAKNAR of my home world."

Raven remained silent for a few moments longer before prying open one eye and leveling her gaze at her friend. "Okay, I'll bite. Why does the Jacuzzi in the boy's bath remind you of this gelsork frak-thinkie?"

With a painfully serious expression, Starfire replied, "The GELSORK FRAKNAR is a short but round creature whose flatulence is infamous throughout my world, especially when it submerges itself in the natural hot springs in the ZORVALKOREN Mountains. It is no small chore to get these vile creatures out of a hot spring once it has secured itself to the bottom, and its gaseous emissions resemble that of a rapidly boiling pot of water."

"Eeew." Raven scowled.

"And if this were not bad enough, long term exposure to its gasses have been known to lead to severe intestinal disorders and even temporary blindness."

"Talk about your bad gas."

Starfire giggled.

(To Be Continued)

AN: Well, I hope you liked it. Things will pick up considerably in the next chapter. Unlike many of my other stories, this one shouldn't go over 10 chapters, probably not even that long. Please take the time to review and let me know what you thought of it.

I'd like to thank my always-incredible beta-reader, Janice, who makes my work look better than it is. Thanks, Janice.


	2. Chapter 2: The Chase

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

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Teen Titans: Raven vs Starfire

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Chapter 2: The Chase

The alarm sounded and the emergency lights flashed. Within seconds all five Titans were assembled in the great room, looking at the monitor that had descended from the ceiling.

"It's the bio-technologies lab at the far side of town," Robin announced. "Titans! Move out!"

They all turned and rushed out to protect their city.

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(000)

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Geneontech was the leading biotechnology company in the country and its facilities looked more like a college campus then a corporate superpower. The head of security rushed out the meet the Titans, panic etched upon his face.

"Thank God, you're here." He came to a stop and placed his hands upon his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "It's the neurological facility. Someone's broken in and is tearing the place apart, but how he got in, I have no idea."

Suddenly, an explosion and a pillar of black smoke caught their attention.

"I'm guessing that's the neurological facility?" Robin asked.

The man in the dark suit nodded.

"Titans! Go!" Robin commanded.

Starfire flew over her leader and took his out-stretched hands, lifting him effortlessly into the air. Beastboy transformed into a Pterodactyl and grabbed Cyborg by the shoulders, flapping his wings as hard as he could to get the added weight off the ground. Raven levitated and brought up the rear.

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(000)

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Smoke bellowed out of the top corner window of the three-story building. Robin and Starfire smashed through the windows to the right, Cyborg and Beastboy crashed through the windows to the left, while Raven went in from where the explosion had occurred.

Blinded by the smoke, she extended her soul-self around the smoky air and sent it out the window. With the air clear again, she easily spotted a suspicious item on the floor. Swooping to the floor, she reached down and picked up the cause of the explosion and the smoke just as Robin and the others burst into the room.

Looking at the device, Raven explained, "It was a smoke bomb with a sonic detonator." Looking about the empty conference room, she added. "Obviously, a diversion."

"Whoever it is, he's trying to lead us in the wrong direction. Titans, spread out and search the place." Robin commanded.

"And if he has already gone?" Starfire asked.

"Then we need to find out how he got into this place. Geneontech is one of the most secure companies around. He couldn't have just walked in through the front gate."

They nodded and were off, all except Raven, who was still staring at the explosive device in her hand.

"Raven, what's wrong? We need to find out who did this and now," Robin explained.

"I already know who it is."

"You do? How? Who?"

She turned the device so Robin could see the villain's signature logo stamped on top of it.

"Slade!" the masked hero growled.

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(000)

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"Titans…," Robin broadcasted to the rest of the team. "The person we're after is Slade."

"Are you for real?" Cyborg asked in disbelief.

"What's metal-head doing back?" Beastboy chimed in.

"I don't know, but when it comes to Slade, you know it's dangerous, so be on your guard. If you find him, call for backup right away. Robin out."

With Cyborg searching the third floor, Robin and Beastboy took the second floor while Raven and Starfire flew down to the first. They each darted in and out of every room throughout the building. Most of the people on the lower floors seemed to be surprised to see them, still unaware that anything had even happened. What the Titans found were people going about their normal workday.

That is, until Raven and Starfire went into a secured lab in the far end of the building, opposite of where the explosion had occurred. Here, several scientists and engineers lay unconscious on the floor while equipment and documents were strung everywhere.

"Looks like we found where Slade was searching," Raven observed. She flew over to the nearest scientist and tried to wake him.

"Robin," Starfire called from her communicator.

"Yeah, Starfire?"

"We have located the lab which appears to have been Slade's target. He is no longer here, but it does appear he was here not long ago."

"Okay, I'm on my way. Robin out."

She closed her communicator and attached it to her belt, then went over by Raven to see if she had had any luck reviving the man.

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(000)

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A few minutes later, Robin came rushing into the lab. By now all the scientists and engineers were sitting up or standing, still groggy but awake. Raven left the side of one of the scientists and flew over to Robin.

"It looks like Slade was after this." She held up a schematic diagram.

"What is it?" Robin took it and looked it over carefully.

"It's some kind of memory altering device."

"Memory altering device?" Robin looked up in shock.

"Apparently, it was being developed for people who've suffered seriously traumatic experiences. Things so horrible it prevents them from living a normal life. The idea behind it was to replace the bad memories with something less traumatic so the victim could move on with their lives," Raven explained.

"But in Slade's hands, who knows what sort of twisted use he could come up with." Robin lowered the paper. "How far along were they to making it work?"

"I was just about to find out when you walked in." Raven turned and headed back to the scientist she had been talking to, and Robin followed behind her.

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(000)

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Cyborg was making his third pass by the main hallway. He couldn't help but shake his head at the sight of the short, round man with the comb-over still pressing the elevator button impatiently. "Man, give it up. If it hasn't come by now, just take the stairs," the cybernetic teenager whispered to himself. Suddenly, he stopped and looked back towards the elevator. "Wait a minute. This building's only three floors. No way it should take that long." He headed over to the man.

"Is there a problem, sir?" Cyborg smiled.

"This elevator won't open up." The man peered closely at the seam between the doors. "I can tell it's there, but it just won't open."

Cyborg smiled. "Allow me." Placing a hand on each door, he pulled them apart. "There you go… wooooow!" Just as the man had suspected, the elevator car was there, but its bottom was missing. The teen looked down and shook his head. "That's a lot further than three stories, even if they do have a basement."

Turning to the man, Cyborg said, "I'm sorry, sir, but this elevator is out of service."

The man frowned, then walked away.

"Way out of service." Cyborg pulled out his communicator. "Robin, I think I know how Slade got into the building."

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(000)

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The five Titans stood at the bottom of a shaft that went 200 feet below the foundation of the building.

"It's a tunnel," Beastboy said.

"Really? What gave it away?" Raven replied in her dry, sarcastic manner.

The green changeling glared.

With Cyborg and Starfire illuminating the way, Robin commanded, "Let's go," and they made their way through the cave.

After about 300 feet, the single tunnel branched off into 4 and its composition changed from earth and clay to sandstone.

"We must have reached the catacombs," Raven observed.

"You mean the ones that start under the mountains and lead to the dessert?" Beastboy asked.

"Do you know of any others?" she replied.

Again, he frowned.

"Tracks come and go from each passage. Which way do we go?" Cyborg asked.

"We split up. Cyborg, you take the center. Raven, Starfire, you take the two to the left. Beastboy, you're with me." Without hesitation, the Titan's leader was off and running.

"Hey, Dude! Wait for me!" Beastboy changed into a fruit bat and took off after him.

"Catch you later." Cyborg took off running.

The two girls turned to each other and nodded, then flew down their respective tunnels.

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(000)

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After several long minutes, the tunnel that Robin and Beastboy went down branched off into two. They separated and continued on their way. A few minutes later, the two tunnels along with the one Cyborg had gone down merged into one.

The three heroes came to a stop.

"Well, that was a waste," Cyborg groaned.

"Come on, let's keep going. Maybe we'll join back up with the girls." Robin said, then took off running again. The other two were close behind.

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(000)

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Raven and Starfire had been flying down their respective tunnels for nearly an hour when the two paths merged back into one.

"Raven!" a startled Starfire gasped.

They both came to a landing.

"That's odd…" Raven looked back to see that indeed tracks lead down both passages from whence they had just come. Following the direction of the tracks, she looked towards the single tunnel ahead.

In the darkness, a glowing red eye greeted her.

"Slade." She glared and prepared for battle.

"Looking for this?" The villain held up the device he had taken from the lab.

Starfire's eyes glowed green and she sent a ball of energy down the length of the cave. It exploded and a bellow of smoke filled the air around them.

"Did I…"

"Now, now, ladies. You didn't really think you could eliminate me that easily, did you?" Slade's deep voice echoed mockingly towards them.

Without hesitation, the two heroes went flying after him.

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(000)

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Robin's communicator sounded and the Boy Wonder pulled it out without breaking stride.

"Robin, we have encountered Slade and are in pursuit."

"Great, Starfire. Stay on his tail and we'll be there as fast as we can."

"Affirmative. Starfire, out."

Robin holstered his communicator and skidded to a stop. "The girls have found Slade, we need to go back."

Cyborg and Beastboy came to a stop.

"But tracks lead this way too and it's possible that the tunnels they went down will merge with this one again. It may be faster just going ahead." Cyborg reasoned.

"That may be true, but we can't be sure," Robin countered.

"Fine." Cyborg thought logically. "You and BB go back, I'll keep going this way." He pointed in the direction they had been heading. "If I don't find anything in fifteen minutes, I'll turn around and head back as well."

Taking only a second to consider his teammate's suggestion, Robin responded, "All right. But make sure, no more than fifteen minutes. We'll need everyone to take down Slade."

"You got it." Cyborg gave his leader the thumbs up, then took off running.

"Beastboy, you're with me."

"All right, but we need to get there fast, so hop on." The changeling transformed into a thoroughbred. Robin jumped onto his back and they raced back the way they came.

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(000)

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Raven and Starfire flew as fast as they could in pursuit of Slade, but no matter how fast they went, they couldn't close the gap between them. Starfire tried to slow down the arch-villain by hurling starbolts at him, but he somehow managed to avoid them without losing a step.

Suddenly, the tunnel curved upwards and they were able to close the distance, though they lost sight of him momentarily after he reached the crest of the hill. As they came to that point, an object flew at them, exploding and sending them tumbling back down the hill.

"Arrrgh." Raven was the first to try and get up. Turning towards her partner, she asked, "Starfire? Are you alright?"

The redhead's eyes slowly fluttered open and she pressed her palm to her forehead. "That was… unexpected."

"When it comes to Slade, we have to expect everything." Raven wasted not another breath as she continued the pursuit. Starfire shook her head, and putting on – as Cyborg would call it – her game-face. She launched herself into the air, quickly catching up to her friend.

They were even further behind him now, and were losing sight of him whenever the cave changed direction.

"We have to close the gap. If this cave spits again, we'll lose him for sure," Raven said.

Starfire nodded. "Understood."

By sheer determination, the two girls began to fly faster through the winding passage, steadily reducing the distance between them and their prey.

Once again, Starfire tried hitting him with her starbolts, but again he managed to avoid them effortlessly.

And again, he tossed another bomb behind him, but this time they were coming too fast and managed to pass it before it exploded.

Raven's eyes were riveted on their target, refusing to lose sight of him again, when it dawned upon her, _How on earth is he running so fast? It's not humanly possible. Slade's never been that fast before._ She focused on his feet. After a moment she realized. _No dust. No footprints. It's a trap!_

"Starf-" was as far as she got before both heroes were hit by an intense blast of energy.

They screamed in pain, suspended in midair for several agonizing seconds before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

The image of Slade running suddenly disappeared and from the darkness the heavy steps of the Titan's arch-villain approached the fallen pair. "Too easy."

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(000)

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"Aaaah…" Slowly, Starfire opened her eyes. Everything was dark and out of focus, and her mind felt much the same way. Gradually, her eyes adjusted to the poorly lit room and she could make out her friend lying unconscious on a table with numerous probes and devices around her head. Panic instantly set in. "RAVEN!" she yelled and struggled to move, which proved to be a big mistake, as she let out an ear-popping scream of pain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the placid, evil voice of Slade echoed. "You see, your restraints are powered by your own efforts. The harder you struggle, the more powerful the restraint."

Thinking quickly, Starfire relaxed completely, expecting gravity to be enough to free her from the wall she was secured to, but nothing happened.

"Nice try. You thought if you failed to resist at all then the restraints would stop functioning as well. Fortunately, I made sure there is always a minimum level of energy supplied to keep you in place. Though I must admit, I wouldn't have expected you to come up with that solution so quickly."

Looking about the room, Starfire did her best to focus on the source of the voice. "You will find I am full of surprises." Her eyes shone green and she fired a beam of energy towards it, but the beam only traveled about a yard before striking a field, which charged her restraints. Again she screamed in agony.

Sweat dripped from the Tamaranian's face and hair. Her head hung low as she struggled to catch her breath. "What… are you doing… to my… friend?"

"Oh, I'm not hurting her, if that's your concern. In fact, I'm willing to bet she's enjoying her little stroll down memory lane. Of course, they're not really her memories, but we'll keep that our little secret."

Starfire suddenly felt a sharp pain at the side of her neck.

"I'd love to stay and chat with you, Starfire, but your friend, Raven, is almost done and it's your turn next."

"My turn for what?" she demanded to know. "Slade! Answer me!"

"Sorry, Princess, but that would ruin the surprise."

Despite her better judgment, Starfire started to struggle against her restraints and once again the pain of her own energy being turned against her increased exponentially. But despite the pain, she continued to struggle, screaming in rage rather than agony.

Eventually, the restraint system began to overheat and smoke, but it was too little, too late, as the drug she had been injected with began to take effect and she fell into a deep slumber.

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(000)

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Gradually, Starfire began to stir. "Where am I?" she whispered to herself. Her head was pounding and her eyes hurt to open, but open them she did. The streets of Jump City and a small crowd of bystanders greeted her. Looking about she realized she was lying in the middle of an intersection and traffic in all directions had come to a halt. "How did I get here?" Weakly she tried to push herself up, but only managed to sit up on an angle.

Without warning, the ground before her turned black and the large shadowy figure of a bird rose up from it.

Starfire gasped in horror. The shadow faded, and the darkly cloaked figure of her fellow Titan appeared.

"There you are, Red." An evil smirk crossed Raven's face as she raised her hand high, levitating several cars behind her. "Ready to die?"

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(To Be Continued)

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AN: Well, I hope this chapter smacks of realism and is consistent with the show and how they go about pursuing villains. Be honest now, were you expected this at the end of the chapter?

As of now, I don't see this story going past 5 chapters. The next is the heart of the story and the source of its name, Raven vs Starfire.

Hope it lives up to expectations.

As always, thanks to my ever awesome and wonderful beta, Janice. Here's looking at you, kid.

Please take a moment to review and let me know what you think of this chapter.

Thanks,

A. Amishi


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